Tuesday, July 03, 2007

I got another flat on my way home. This was my own fault. I couldn't find my Take-A-Look mirror when I left my office, so I was hurried and left late for starters. Leaving my office after 4:00 is a bad idea. You might as well wait until 7:00 PM or take a bus if you get out after 4:00.

With no mirror, I found myself looking over my shoulder a lot. Through Wyandotte county, Merriam Lane/Southwest Boulevard turns into a moonscape of craters and potholes. As I took a glance over my left shoulder, my arms felt a sudden jostle as I impacted a huge pothole. I didn't hear any tire deflation, so I kept rolling. About half a mile later, my front end went squishy and I begun to hear the telltale whisper of a pinch flat. Out of intact tubes and afraid to put any faith in patches, I called my wife to pick me up. We had errands to run anyways, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

I'll be back out on the road tomorrow, though. I made a stop by the LBS and got more inner tubes and Boeshield T9. I'm still ready to rock. Anyhow, time to hit the sack.

6 comments:

Odd. I haven't had a problem with mine at all. Weighing in at what has to be less than one ounce, I don't think I could tell the difference between my helmet's weight with or without this mirror, much less the weight difference between this mirror and some other brand.

Regardless, having a mirror -- ANY mirror -- has got to be a godsend for a commuter. I don't know how I went so long without one.

Sirrus: The TAL I have can attach to glasses, but also came with a helmet adapter which is little more than a flat piece of plastic with mounting tabs and super-hard foam tape.

Apertome: I haven't used the T9 yet. I used FinishLine Wax all winter on my mountain bike and had quite the stash saved up, as whenever I'd think about it, I'd get more. Riding in the winter in KC, I'd basically have to slater the wax on my chain every night. You'd think Kansas City was trying to keep the road from spoiling the way they salt it.

I'm out of it now, and the LBS recommended T9.

I was using FinishLine Wax on my chain, cassette, chainrings, in the RD jockey wheels, and (very sparingly, like every other month) down in my shifter cable housings.

The back of my T9 bottle lists all of those as well as Brake lever/caliper pivots, seat posts/frame joints and spoke nipples as recommended applications.

T9 is apparently very similar to FinishLine Wax, except I've seen more people recommend it, so it may be higher quality. At the end of the day, it's another solvent-suspended paraffin wax lubricant. I'll let you guys know how I like it.

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